FAIRMONT (www.timeswv.com) — The West Virginia High Technology Consortium Foundation’s RespondComm program is working to give emergency responders the tools for better communications during crises.

A grant from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), which is part of the U.S. Department of Justice, provides funding for the RespondComm program. David Ramsburg serves as project manager for this WVHTC Foundation initiative, which is under the Scientific Research Group’s Mission Systems division.

RespondComm is an effort to expand wireless broadband for emergency responders in times of need. The program focuses on interoperability, capacity and functionality, which are areas where improved communications are needed.

Operable, efficient communications are vital when disasters strike. Rapidly deployable communications platforms can create temporary infrastructure, and alternative energy sources are necessary for instances when fuel is not accessible.

Ramsburg said the WVHTC Foundation started working with NIJ almost three years ago. NIJ was very interested in the standards for WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) because of potential opportunities to enhance communication for public safety. RespondComm was established to test how this technology could be used, he said.

RespondComm, which is still a pilot program, has two aspects: working with local public safety and building custom pieces of software, and using equipment for rapid deployment and to put up temporary infrastructure, Ramsburg said. The program is working to “establish both stationary and deployable WiMAX network infrastructure” and to “incorporate rapidly deployable tower platforms.”

He said the RespondComm team is in contact with local law enforcement — like the Fairmont Police Department, Marion County Sheriff’s Department and Central Communications — on a regular basis to get feedback about areas where they could benefit, and that information is passed on to NIJ.

RespondComm has been involved in the deployment of the tower platforms for almost two years, working with the U.S. Department of Defense and spin-off projects, Ramsburg said.

Through this technology, a wireless broadband network can be set up where one doesn’t exist and without any infrastructure already in place. The mobile units rely mostly on solar power but also use wind, and they have battery power to last through the night. When the towers are brought on scene, a connection is all that’s needed, he said.

“We can take a network and extend it wirelessly,” Ramsburg said.

With this set-up, “additional information that is very valuable” can then be transmitted, he said.

Ramsburg said these systems were never designed for long-term operations, which is why renewable resources are a key element. Renewable energy allows the trailers — with everything connected wirelessly — to be deployed and left on scene.

When a storm knocked out the towers at Camp Dawson in Preston County, the RespondComm units were taken there to be used for the first time. Ramsburg said that was a great success story for the program.

In addition to Ramsburg, the RespondComm team includes engineers within the WVHTC Foundation and subcontractors like HCS Technologies and Information Research Corporation (IRC) that provide support, he said.

For more information, visit www.respondcomm.com.

E-mail Jessica Legge at jlegge@timeswv.com.